“Biharnomics” Examined
In Alaskonomics and Bihar – Part I, I raised the point about distribution of taxes and income amongst various states in India.
This matter is at the heart of several controversies – the most recent being Narendra Modi’s demand that revenues from Gujarat should largely be spent in/on Gujarat. It also has a bearing on issues such as the anti-North-Indians movement in Maharashtra. But most importantly, this analysis is key to understanding and dealing with under-development in Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, AP and MP…all of them states having large swathes of land where the government has no role and no influence, forget authority.
In that sense, this discussion not only influences national economic development but also has ramifications for internal security (with regards the influence of Maoists) as well as the evolution of India’s federal structure (and the relationship between states and centre).
However, my search for data to support this analysis was not very fruitful…I did unearth some very interesting nuggets but there are still large gaps without which it is difficult to formulate any hypothesis on this sensitive subject. As the title of this post suggests, a lot of these “nuggets†had to do with Bihar and how it compares vis-à -vis other states.
The first excerpt is from an article provocatively titled, “The economic strangulation of Bihar” (originally published in 2004). In the article, Mohan Guruswamy and Abhishek Kaul, the two authors contend that:Â Bihar is being systematically denied even its rightful due from the Centre, let alone the additional assistance its economic and social condition deserves.
The picture they paint of Bihar is not pretty.
For instance,
- Bihar’s poverty levels are amongst the highest in the country
- Its annual real per capita income is about a third of the national average of Rs 11, 625
- Bihar is also the only State where the majority of the population — 52.47 per cent — is illiterate
- Bihar’s per capita spending on roads is Rs 44.60, just 38 per cent of the national average of Rs 117.80
- In terms of per capita expenditure on medical and public health, Bihar falls well behind with Rs 86.20, against the national average of Rs 157.20
Bihar is not only the worst off of all Indian States, but the gap between it and the rest is also widening. As opposed to an All-India per capita developmental expenditure (from 2000 to 2002) of Rs 6748.50, Bihar’s was less than half at Rs 3,206.00. This trend continued in the later years. In 2003-04, per capita spending on developmental heads in Bihar (Rs 1,075) was one half of the all-state average (Rs 2,035) [ link ].
From an article by Mohan Guruswamy in The Hindu, I found out that:
- In 1999-00 Bihar is (was) the second poorest state in the country- behind Orissa- with 42.60% of its population living below the poverty line
- The majority (68.8% in Bihar and 68.3% in UP) of land-holdings are marginal (less than one hectare) or small (one to two hectares). This small size of the average holding militates against higher productivity. This also means that much of this farming is subsistence farming resulting in very little saleable surplus
- As compared to the per capita plan allocations of Rs. 9,289.10 for Gujarat and Rs. 8,260.00 for Karnataka, Bihar and UP received just Rs. 2,533.80 and Rs. 3,595.70 respectively (under the Tenth Plan). Further, “….the increase in the state outlays from the Ninth Plan to the Tenth Plan has been the lowest for Bihar (11.9%), while states like AP (28.8%), Gujarat (16.2%), Karnataka (109.6%) and Orissa (58.2%) are quite clearly much more favored than Bihar…”
To put all this in perspective, the population of Bihar at around 85million (today) is second only to UP (at ~170m and Maharashtra (at ~ 100m) [ 2001 Census figures here ]
But as many of you would know, Bihar was not always like that…. In ancient times, Bihar (Magadha) was the birthplace of two major empires (the Mauryan and the Gupta)…and the cradle of several advances in science, mathematics, religion, astronomy and philosophy. It is believed that it was during the Mauryan empire (~300 B.C.) that the Indian subcontinet was united under a single government for the first time.
But that was then…Today, its people are amongst the most impoverished in the country…and in spite of being inheritors of a great heritage and blessed with a land rich with resources, they continue to struggle and live a life of misery, thanks not just to its famed leader but almost every politician who has ever ruled the state.
To get a sense of the depths of inefficiency in the public administration system in Bihar, pl. read these excerpts from an article penned more than a decade ago titled…†Bihar withers away†by K P Joseph.
“……Some of (Bihar’s) financial scandals appear like stories out of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. Here are a few examples…
During the last five years, the government spent Rs 77 crore on staff salaries to collect irrigation dues of Rs 39 crore.
During the same period, the Water Resources Department spent Rs 900 crore on salaries to execute work worth Rs 280 crore.
In the Patna Medical College Hospital, eight out of 10 lifts and three out of five ambulances have not been working for years.”
I doubt that much has changed since then (1997).
The fodder scam is of course too well known to be repeated.
So are there no bright spots? Actually, there are:
- Bihar’s per capita spending on education, at Rs 484.10, is as good as the best. AP spends Rs 493.90 and the national average is Rs 586.8.
- Its infant mortality rate is 62 per 1,000, which is below the national average of 66 per 1,000. But what is interesting is that this is better than not just UP (83) and Orissa (91), but better even than States such as AP and Haryana (both 66)
- Also (importantly), Bihar has India’s largest concentration in the below 25 years age cohort, with 58 per cent in this category
But all these nice figures are easily overshadowed by the enormity of disparity between Bihar and other states and the gross inefficiency & waste in public administration and poor governance that has characterised the state.
Does this help you understand why you now see Bihari migrant labourers in practically every corner of India (even in Kashmir where you hardly find any Valley pandits now)?
In my next post on this subject, I will look at the contribution to national GDP made by various states and some interesting statistics on per capita contribution and tax revenues.
Related Posts:
Alaskonomics and Bihar – Part I
See also: Dude, where goes my tax money? and Modi has a point
Additional Reference:Â http://mospi.nic.in/mospi_cso_rept_pubn.htm
Cold statistics dont give the full picture. Here are a few other facts:
1. For the 45 km of Yamuna, Delhi has 20 plus bridges whereas for 445 km of Ganga, Bihar has three and a half bridges
2. The poorest state of India, Bihar, is a net exporter of capital. As much as 70% of the deposits made in the state is taken outside, even by public sector banks. No study has ever been commissioned by the central govt to correct this anamoly.
3. If Bihar had got the same per capita share in the five year plan as the national average, it would have got Rs 1 lakh crore more.
4. Bihar has no IIT, IIM, central university, CSIR lab or DRDO lab. The British era Pusa institute was shifted to Delhi. Now one IIT is being built at Patna.
5. There are close to zero central govt undertakings in Bihar. No banks have their HQ in Bihar.
6. Bihar receives less per capita than national average for flood control
7. The hare brained flood control measures conceived at Delhi have led to an increase of the flood prone area from 2.5 lakh hectares during independence to 6.8 lakh hectares now.
And who’s at fault? Is it the rest of India or Biharis themselves?
This is a response to Mr. TV Sinhas cribs.
1:
Delhi has 20+ bridges because it generates the revenue. What does Bihar generate?
2:
Bihar is a net exporter of capital because Banks are not sure if they will ever get the loans back and this is due to the level of criminalization that exists in Bihar.
3:
Five year plan allocation is not and should not be done on the basis of population. This will serve as a disincentive to population control. Why can’t Biharis control the population and then expect the entire nation to take the tab?
4:
Bihar has no central universities because nobody is willing to go there? Get the crimes under control first.
5:
Is it not a question for Biharis should ask themselves. Lets assume for a moment that the goverment is biased but then even the private sector doesn’t want to go there. Why?
Is there a big conspiracy against Bihar? I don’t think so.
Well every Indian knows the answer.
6:
I don’t know if there is any per capita allocation done for flood control. And it was a faux pass on the part of Bihar Chief minister that he forgot about the damn dam in Nepal.
7:
Biharis should learn to own up the things instead of blaming everybody else? How about a little introspection.
Dear Mr. Sinha,
I appreciate your views of Bihar and the problems it is facing.
As Shri. Milind advocates it is neccessary that you introspect before your feeling of bias against Bihar is accentuated.
Criminalisation of the activities are not common to Bihar alone, it is there in every state.
It would be in the best of things if you “Biharis” take it as a committment to look at Bihar from a different view and see that it gets back into the main stream.
One of the best methods would be to start schools which are not “Secular” in the “Right sense”. Start an evening school to take care of the vagrants. I do not want to be very philosophical and wear tinted glasses and say that all children should be in school and be educated.
Poverty makes it difficult for many families to keep their children in school. Schools are so wonderful that there are no toilets, no teachers, no Boards, no papers, no water etc. and children and parents should be encouraged to send children for “Education”!
I would on the other hand suggest that in the evening school teach the children “Real Education”. Teach them values. Teach them cleanliness; teach them about diseases. Teach them about corruption.
Do not “Educate them”! Teach them that only getting a first class, wearing shoes and ties to school and going in expensive cars and takling in English is not education.
Teach them that all this only hype and that this “Education” only makes them clerks for every level.
Teach them of the true success stories in life, like Ambedkar, Swami Vivekananda, Chipko movement, The Tata group, Patel of Nirma, Verghese of Anand, Aurobindo, Rani of Jhansi and other great people of BHARAT.
Teach them about nature and conserving it. Teach them respect for themselves. Teach them every other thing than what is taught in the “Clerical Schools”.
You will end up with a lot of “REALLY EDUCATED YOUTH”, brimming with confidence witrh real pride in being “BIHARIS”! A real good sect of human beings which every state in Bharat requires.
In a few years you can be the new state that can be emulated.
Charity and self respect begins at home.
Regards,
vck
The position of bihar and jharkhand in india is same as the position of india in the world.
Beofore anyone calls it a crib, let me state just one statistic: The Ganga bridge at Patna was rejected by central govt ‘cos it was considered economically unfeasible. Govt of Bihar nevertheless went ahead and built the bridge severely straining its resources. The payback was Six years as aginst normal thirty years for such infrastructure projects. This has been stated to me by planning commission officials who were closely associated with the whole thing.
Another anecdote: When JP, who came from a little remote village, was asked by his villagers he should ensure that his village should have better connectivity, his answer was that India has 5 lakh villages and why should his own village have any privilege. Such sacrifice is now seen as folly!
Fact is, there is a conspiracy against Bihar. People have been brought up thinking Bihar is backward inspite of the investments there. Fact is, there has been no investment. When fact is presented, guys who have been brought up on such misconceived opinion start giving irrational arguments.
There is no data to show that Bihar has more loan default that other states. In fact, when Rs 70,000 crore of bad agricultural debts were written off by the central govt was written off recently, Bihar’s share was 1.33%. This when Bihar is largely agricultural. Empirical data suggests the lack of credit in Bihar is due to distance from HQ and management bias.
NCRB data does not show that Bihar has more crime than other states. Further, for the last one year, Bihar has had the best record in conviction rate of police cases registered. In didnapping, for which the media has given maximum bad coverage to Bihar, it is at sixth place.
Bihar assumed nation will be fair to him. That was a mistake. Now there is an increased awareness that this will not be so and he will to fight for his rights.
VCK: On education, Pratham study has threw up some some very encouraging results from Bihar. The absorbption of education is much much better compared to most other Indian states. The problem is lack of investment, not the commitment of the students or their parents; not even quality of teachers (I am talking of primary teachers, where only 13% are less than graduates compared to over 40% for the country as a whole).
The silver lining is that once a Bihari sets his eyes on zomething, he gets it any which way. It will be a tough fight, since Bihari will remain Indian first and Indian to his last breadth. So he will have to find a way to get what is his due without comprimising on his patriotism. In the next ten years, we will see a sea change.
Dear Shri. Sinha.
I know that it is the land of Lord Rama, Lord Buddha, Nalanda, Chanakya. You have the Ganges flowing through it.
You have a great history to back you up. You can come on tops.
Wish you all the best.
My only angst was that you elect the worst people as your represenatives and are the losers. Get your act thru and I am sure you can get to the top rung very easily.
Regards,
vck
Shantanu, I just request you to go to Bihar for a 15 days study tour. Visit urban as well as rural centers. Go to schools, colleges, govt offices. Talk to people – young, old, and children. Ask questions. Listen to them carefully.
I bet you would come back as an enlightened person, much like Buddha. Many like you did this experiment and came back with a completely changed perspective. Our forefathers were right when they said seeing is hundred times better than hearing. Go see the truth first hand and then write on the subject. Then you would be called an intellectual. What you are doing right is what media honchos have been doing since long time – sitting in ivory towers of Delhi and Mumbai and painting a sorry picture of Bihar!
Grossly overstated figures and marginalisation of Bihar is nothing new.How conveniently Mohan guruswamy’s other comments have been ignored to highlight the plight of bihar.He has also written another article titled “economic stangulaton of Bihar ” http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/02/07/stories/2004020700100800.htm in which he highlighted the self serving bias of babus and elite economists.
IIf Bihar and UP got just the all-India per capita average for the Tenth Five Year Plan, they would have got Rs 48,216.66 crore and Rs 96,604.57 crore respectively for the Tenth Plan instead of the niggardly Rs 21,000.00 crore and Rs 59,708.00 crore they have been allocated.
The lower per capita levels of Plan allocations and Central assistance provided to UP and Bihar has naturally impacted their development expenditure. Thus, as opposed to the All-India per capita developmental expenditure (from 2000 to 2002) of Rs 6,748.50, Bihar’s is less than half, at Rs 3,206.00, and UP is only marginally better at Rs 3,786.30.
Bihar has 7.04 million hectares under agriculture and its yield of 1,679 kg per hectare, while less than the national average of 1,739 kg per hectare, is better than that of six other States, including some big agricultural States like Karnataka and Maharashtra.
The World Bank’s country study of India’s poverty actually shows (See “India: Reducing Poverty, Accelerating Development,” Table 8.5 on page 115) that the change in Bihar’s social infrastructure has been the highest in India, while economic deterioration has been among the lowest.
Now, the question of how much did Bihar “forego”? If Bihar got just the All-India per capita average, it would have got Rs 48,216.66 crore for the Tenth Five Year Plan instead of the Rs 21,000.00 crore it has been allocated. It would have got Rs 44,830 crore as credit from banks instead of the Rs 5,635.76 crore it actually got, if it were to get the benefit of the prevalent national credit/deposit ratio.
There are many more facts and data which surely point out to other systematic anomalies,however guys like shantanu’s and others are far from competent to speak about bihar’s unique socio-economic and cultural challenges.
Folks like VCK and Milind are plain ignorant and blissfully dumb to understand what developement means.
TV, Milind, vck, infosahay, Mayank and Ajit…this is turning out to be a great discussion…
It is very late now for me to put together my thoughts cogently but I will definitely respond within this weekend.
Thanks for sharing your views and insights…
***
@ Mayank: Thanks for the excellent suggestion…Seeing is indeed several times better than hearing (or reading)…In this I have been guilty…my last visit to Bihar was many many years ago…and I have not had the chance to visit in the last few years at all…but more on all this later.
Just to add few more thoughts were so called “backward” Bihar leads India. These are few well deserved accolades which have been systematically denied to a state which is really coming out well from the shadow of past.
Bihar is the only state in India to have 50% of places in local municipal bodies reserved for women.http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bihar-did-what-sonia-n-pm-couldnt/380238/
First Right to Information call centre of India existing in Patna for 11 years (January 1997), Bihar can today boast of being way ahead of other States, no other state has achieved this.http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/bihar-leads-the-country-with-first-right-to-information-call-centre-2_10084619.html
Its one of the top 10 states in Excise tax collection .http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2706807.cms
Fast track courts in Bihar have convicted and sentenced more criminals than courts in any other Indian state in the past 30 months. http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/oct/13slid1.htm
Bihar is the only state in India where retired soldiers are being hired as policemen to stem the crime wave.
A simplified tax system conceived and launched in Bihar is now being emulated by Sri Lanka and various African countries and has been lauded by the United Nations.Introduced by the municipality of Patna, the state capital, in 1993, the tax system, locally known as the “Patna model of taxation” simplifies property tax rates on the basis of the local area and use of property.States like Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh have adopted the same property tax model. The UN was so impressed by the taxation model that it gave a $30,000 award to Bihar for introducing this method.
Assocham state-wise analysis of mobile subscription, Bihar has registered the maximum increase in annual telecom subscribers, marking a growth of 88.2 per cent in the fiscal 2007-08 as compared to the 51.1 per cent in 2006-07.http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19713§ionid=22&issueid=79&Itemid=1
The wi-fi revolution in Bihar http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=148694
All we are asking for is to present a balanced and objective view on development issues. Dry data does not reflect the reality on ground, Bihar’s economic challenges are primarily due to the lack of adequate support and collective failure of its leadership in driving the development agenda. However things have changed for better and now it’s time to recognize and reward the efforts of Bihar and pump more investment and provide better support to scale up infrastructure investment in industry and agriculture.
*** NOTE by MODERATOR ***
Ajit: For some reason, your comment was caught in the spam queue…sorry about that.
@Milind:
While I agree with you about your other points, I disagree about this one:
“Delhi has 20+ bridges because it generates the revenue. What does Bihar generate?”
Actually, Delhi hardly generates *any* revenue and is a parasitic entity subsisting entirely on the earnings of the other states of our federal republic. IMO, Delhi is a worse parasite than even Bihar or UP.
@Ajit:
Your reasoning about plan outlays is entirely misleading – for various reasons. But, first, let me state that having such five year plans is a complete anachronistic waste of our time and money – even Russia no longer has 5-year plans!
Now, you say:
“IIf Bihar and UP got just the all-India per capita average for the Tenth Five Year Plan, they would have got Rs 48,216.66 crore and Rs 96,604.57 crore respectively for the Tenth Plan instead of the niggardly Rs 21,000.00 crore and Rs 59,708.00 crore they have been allocated.
The lower per capita levels of Plan allocations and Central assistance provided to UP and Bihar has naturally impacted their development expenditure. Thus, as opposed to the All-India per capita developmental expenditure (from 2000 to 2002) of Rs 6,748.50, Bihar’s is less than half, at Rs 3,206.00, and UP is only marginally better at Rs 3,786.30.”
Two points in rebuttal:
First, why should plan allocations be linked to population? Just because Bihar has a large *unproductive* population is no reason for the rest of the country to subsidise it. The plan allocations, if any, should instead be linked to GNP per capita – which then is an incentive to state governments to concentrate on development, instead of caste and corruption.
Second, the plan *allocations* are not generated out of thin air. Have you considered from where the revenues are generated that can then be spent as *plan allocations*?? Why should states like AP, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat which generate the majority of the revenues continue to spend on states like Bihar, UP, MP, Jharkand when the local politicians and the local people do nothing to improve the productivity and the systems of their states? Plan allocations are not manna from heaven, they have been paid for by hard working people elsewhere in the country.
Then, you go on to say:
“Bihar has 7.04 million hectares under agriculture and its yield of 1,679 kg per hectare, while less than the national average of 1,739 kg per hectare, is better than that of six other States, including some big agricultural States like Karnataka and Maharashtra.”
You show your complete ignorance of facts when you claim Maharashtra to be a big agricultural state. Maharashtra has only one small fertile belt – which is the sugarcane belt, which is the size of Bihar, and has much higher productivity and yields than Bihar. The rest of Maharashtra is arid and yields reflect the nature of the land, which is probably has 10% fertility of the gangetic plains.
So, my question is: given that UP and Bihar have the most fertile land in the whole country, why are they two of the poorest states in the country having to depend on alms from the other states to survive? What is wrong with you people?
@author…
Dude,what r u trying to convey??
Aren’t u an ashamed Indian??
I can also post various scams, crime & corruption in Maharshtra.
We havn’t even forget “Stamp scamp”.
We also remember “Khairlanji Incident”.
I still remember the “Caste Politics” in IIT Powai.
I still remember the naked “violence by Shiv Sena” after Babri Masjid demolition.
I still remember how u celebrated New year eve when girls were teased in a crowd.
I still remember “farmers suicide” in Vidarbha.
I still remember how u people treated “Kannadigans” in late 1960s.
I am pretty sure that in ur next post u r going to bring some negative aspects of Bihar. Carry one … and Call urselve “Proud Indian”and say “Satyamev Jayte”.
Don’t be so passimist…
U could have also do a bit for the progress and development of Bihar. YOU have confined urselve to one particular state.
The state of Bihar that we are talking about is not some foreign piece of land.If any state has failed, it is colective failure of the nation. No one can get away from sharing the blame or reason. If you feel proud for the success of Ambanis,Tata, Murthy, Sachin, Dhoni, Abhinav Bindra etc you cannot shy away from decline or not so good development in some part of your land. Bihar is part of this country like any other state. Kindly, don’t marginalise people from a particular region. I, as an Indian and Bihari,am very much concerned about lot of misadventures carried out in different states across India but not willing to brand any part of this great nation on the basis of some aberrations. If responsible citizen and intellect/politician do not cease to refrain from ill-branding Bihar, i am afraid it will provide valid reason for violence or more agressive reactions. Incidence of Rahul Raj in Mumbai is just a manifestation of that.
Bihar is not the sole responsible cause of many ills/evils in this country, but She does have her share of contribution in all efforts that is pushing India into categories of developed country.
@ Ajit, Patriot: Thanks for continuing the discussion….I still need to find some time to post a thoughtful response.
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@ Rohit: I don’t understand your point (and your anger). Where have I said that Bihar is the only problem we have? Where have I tried to portray Bihar’s citizens in a negative light?
I would urge you to read my other posts on this blog e.g.https://satyameva-jayate.org/2008/10/23/no-longer-funny/ and https://satyameva-jayate.org/2008/02/19/there-is-a-rashtra-in-maharashtra/ to get a better picture of what I think.
***
@ Varun: I tend to agree that the “failure of Bihar” is not just the failure of a state…we must share the responsibility.
I have noticed one thing about all the discussions about Bihar on all the forums. They tend to slip away from the point. Two sides get formed and that is certainly not the intention here.
Yes Bihar’s problems are our problems. Underdevelopment is an issue which has affected not only Bihar but also several other states. And inside the relatively developed states there are backward zones. Typically the people from the backward zones face discrimination. When I was in the college ,we had a couple of guys from Bihar in our class and there were a few from rural Maharashtra. And we all hated them. The hate was irrational and I feel ashamed about it now. But it’s a fact of life.
We think that somehow these people are from some other planet and are not in the same league. This happens because they have funny accents, were cheap clothes and are not aware about many things which are taken for granted in Metros. As we grew up we realized our mistakes and felt sorry for ill treating these guys.
The same thing happens to us in the USA or I would say it used to happen to Indians in the USA. When I landed in the US I faced the similar treatment. But as I became more americanized I got more acceptance. It’s all about PERCEPTION.
What Bihar or rather the cow belt needs is an image makeover.When a Lalu Yadav or a Sadhu Yadav speaks on national TV, it doesn’t do a lot of good for the image of Bihar. People from Rest of India are scared of going to Bihar and many parts of UP. All we know about these regions is crime, dirt and poverty. And while we all want Bihar to prosper we have no clue about how it’s going to happen.
In Bihar all the parties without exception have huge ranks of criminals and mafia elements in it.
Not a single politician except may be Nitish Kumar is really keen on development. All Lalu and Paswan want to do is politics. Both have sensed a great opportunity from the present situation and out to get only political mileage from it.
Entire Bihari politicians have become laughing stock of the country.
No body from Biahr wants to accept that migration may be causing genuine problems for the locals. Migration is good but when it’s only a one way traffic like in the case of UP and Bihar ,it’s bound to cause a lot of problems. The sheer number of Biahris is scary.
And There is not check on population growth. Which other state has a leader with thirteen kids.
All of the above has created lot of image problems for Bihar and I don’t see and light at the end of the tunnel. It makes me sad because no development in Bihar means no end to misery of millions of people. I hope I’m wrong.
Milind: very pecerptive and balanced comment…
Bihar’s “problems” are really a reflection of failure of leadership at multiple levels…over a very long period of time..
Nitish Kuamr is certainly doing some good…but we need at least a dozen more like him…
Yet, all is not lost. I was heartened to hear from Prof Sastry of ElectionWatch that Nitish Kumar has publicly committed to not taking anyone with a criminal record in his cabinet.
That might appear to be a trivial commitment to those outside the cow-belt but believe me, it is a big step forward.
patriot,
I’m from Mumbai and I know how strongly a true blue Mumbaikar feels about Delhi :). However in last few years Delhi has changed a lot and it does generate a lot of revenue. It’s also one of the top states when it comes to FDI.
Everyone,
the debate is unfortunate to become pro Vs anti-Bihar. I strongly urge all of you to read the book “Republic of Bihar” by Long time Editor of Indian Nation and a Columnist in Times of India Arvind N Das.
The Book publishes a balanced view of the scenario. It is a classic case, but nonetheless, needs to come out and change. Few basic principles shoudl however be kept in mind
1. if the revenue collected by government start getting spent only on those from whom it is collected, then the poors in Delhi have no right to go on super highways.
2.By the same logic, the natural resources from Bihar would not have gone in to factories all across the country and the freight equalization principles would have led to bloody wars.